


if you don't surrender, i will

by vminthough



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bangtan Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Crushes, Domestic, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin are Best Friends, Kim Taehyung | V is Whipped, M/M, Neck Kissing, OT7, Platonic Cuddling, Roommates, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, implied namkook, jimin and taehyung are both teases who like the other suffering, just the most fluffliest vmin ever, mild jealousy, side Yoonjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:55:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25085023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vminthough/pseuds/vminthough
Summary: jimin and taehyung both know exactly how the other feels towards them; only they’re having way too much fun chasing the thrill in the space between friendship and love to confess first
Relationships: Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin
Comments: 51
Kudos: 206





	if you don't surrender, i will

**Author's Note:**

> this story was written for chris, thank you for giving me the opportunity to write this <3

It was a duel of the hearts, both circling each other but neither ready to make the first move. 

When Taehyung hesitantly pushes their bedroom door open he can’t help but smile. Of course, seeing Jimin cry was nothing to be happy about, but he had a lingering idea about what it might be to do with. 

He walks the length of the room and sits in front of Jimin, his knees digging into the softness of the carpet. The image in front of his eyes makes his heart skip a few beats. Jimin’s cheeks are red from crying, and he wipes his sweater paw across his nose. Obviously, it’s Taehyung’s grey sweater and is far too large on him, his hands barely visible. He was going to have to make Jimin put it in the wash before he wore it again, if Jimin ever took it off, that is. 

“And why is my Jimin-ah crying, may I ask?” The tugging at the bottom of Taehyung’s stomach grew just that bit more intense, he willed it to stop.

“Go away,” Jimin sniffles, this time rubbing his nose with his palms instead. ‘Thank god for that’, thought Taehyung.

“This is my room, where am I meant to go?” A soft laugh escapes Taehyung, he can’t help it, his best friend was being an idiot.

“To your side of the room!” Jimin commands with a point of a finger roughly to his right. 

Taehyung holds Jimin in place as he tries to turn away, his fingers placed at the back of his head and his thumbs stroking softly at Jimin’s tear-stained cheeks. “Not until you answer me.” 

And then Jimin is crying again, large drops cascading down his eyes in such a beautiful way that Taehyung leans back a little, a gasp escaping his mouth. He never knew Jimin could look so beautiful even when doing something as painful as crying. He was always a little shaken by just how much Jimin grew more and more beautiful by the day. He was struggling to keep up. His lungs would give up any day now. 

“Oh, Jimin-ah!” Taehyung’s thumbs couldn’t match the tears that are escaping his friend’s eyes, so he pushes their foreheads together until Jimin calms down enough to talk again. 

He wonders what he had done to make Jimin so upset, he ran through everything he had said since the morning to Jimin and could not find anything hurtful in the list of words that had escaped his mind. He had scolded Jimin for taking too long to get ready, for the two hundredth time, he wondered if this was the time that it broke him. Surely not? But Jimin was as unpredictable as his phone bills: he never got the hang of what he was paying for even though he’d spent hours analysing the transaction breakdowns they sent at his request.

Without realising it, Taehyung finds himself staring into Jimin’s eyes now. They are red around the edges and deep with a thousand words. Taehyung breathes in slowly, trying to read everything that Jimin is trying to tell him, but he is too mesmerised by the intensity of the gaze to make any heads or tail of what was being conveyed to him.

Taehyung did not think Jimin’s cheeks could get any more rose-coloured than it was, but then he spots the colour deepening and the tips of Jimin’s ears growing red. ‘Oh no, oh no, oh no.’ Taehyung could not believe his eyes; Jimin was blushing. 

As if he was not struggling enough already! 

The softness of the night pressed into Taehyung’s side, he felt like he was kneeling on a cloud rather than the carpet of their bedroom, his hands felt like they were touching candyfloss in shades of pink rather than Jimin’s cheeks. He was suffocating in the beauty of it all.

“Why did you let Jungkook carry you like that?”

The pair had been at Jin and Yoongi’s house for a small party, just the 7 of them and their loudness enough to fill in a stadium. It had been a while since the seven had met up as adult life was kicking all their asses in one swift blow. The oldest couple’s living room was a second home to the rest of the five, all of them had spent more than a few nights there, a lighthouse amidst lost hours and broken hearts. 

Jimin was on Taehyung’s lap, his arms thrown around his neck and his head resting on Taehyung’s collarbone as he sat chatting with Hoseok about just how hard 3rd year finals were, they were going to be approaching just across the bend for Jimin and he needed all the advice he could get. 

Jungkook had been arguing with Jin, more hands and legs than words, about what game they were to play. Although there was a five-year age gap between the two, no one would ever be able to tell who was the more immature one.

Yoongi’s fond gaze was softly lingering on the duo fighting across the room from him, his left hand under his chin as he took in the room full of all the people he loved so endlessly. 

“There is love oozing from your eyes and dripping onto your lap hyung,” Namjoon teased from next to him. Yoongi said nothing to deny the allegation made, but his gummy smile did make a small appearance and Namjoon knew that would be the most he was getting out of his hyung on that matter.

Taehyung looked down at himself as Jungkook was undoing Jimin’s hands from around his neck and trying to detach him from Taehyung’s limbs. “Less snuggling and more playing!” He was repeating as he picked Jimin up with as much ease as if picking up a new-born kitten and depositing him in the middle of the sofa.

Before Jungkook had even managed to place his hands on Taehyung’s side, Jimin was already draping himself over Hoseok. The youngest boy threw Taehyung over his shoulders as laughter erupted through the room, Jin telling Jungkook to stop showing off, which was, of course, heard from one ear and discarded out the other. 

Taehyung caught Jimin’s eyes just as he was thrown onto the adjacent sofa, and he kept their eyes locked as he grabbed for Jungkook’s wrists and pulled him on top of him. Taehyung watched Jimin’s hands fidget at Hoseok’s side and smiled. And then just for the sake of it, he wrapped his legs around Jungkook’s hips and dipped his nose into the fluff ball that was their youngest friend’s hair. The last action was more for himself and his love for the maknae then it was to make Jimin jealous. 

The room filled with laughter, and unfortunately for Taehyung, it was all his. Jimin was still staring at him with those woe filled eyes, expecting an answer. “He was just playing around; you know he’s like a big puppy!”

“Yes, and you like him more than me,” the smaller boy huffed, trying to undo Taehyung’s hands from where it held him, he was turning away, but Taehyung was adamant not to let go. He persisted. 

“Jimin-ah, he didn’t mean anything by that, he just gets a little carried away when he’s happy.”

There was a pout blossoming on Jimin’s face, a pink peony adoring his already gorgeous features. “But you didn’t have to pull him on top of you like that and cuddle him for the next two hours!” By the end of the very exaggerated accusation, Jimin’s voice was already dripping in the whiney tone that made Taehyung a little breathless. 

To be fair, he was to be blamed for having pulled Jungkook on top of him. He knew what he was doing, but he did not think Jimin would be this upset! But for two hours? Come on now, he’d barely lain with Jungkook on the sofa for more than fifteen minutes before the smallness of the sofa made it uncomfortable for the two of them to move around on. 

“And why does it matter if I pulled Jungkook onto me? He’s our friend too.” He was being cheeky, but Taehyung was not going to let go of the little dose of pleasure that teasing Jimin gave him, not today and not ever.

It’s almost comical watching Jimin cross his arms across his chest, raise his chin just that much higher before saying, “it just does!”

As Taehyung leaps from the floor and tackles Jimin into a hug, his whole body pressed onto the smaller boy as he peppers him with kisses, he hears Jimin giggle underneath him. “It just does!” He mocks Jimin, imitating the childish voice that Jimin takes on when he is complaining about something. 

A smile adorns Taehyung’s face as he feels Jimin’s small hands on his back, he is laughing as Taehyung tickles him, but the feeling of Jimin’s nails pressing into his knitted sweater makes his heart flutter. He raises his head away for a split second to capture Jimin at that moment, a picture taken with his eyes for the museum in his head; Jimin’s hair is pushed back away from his face, his cheeks reaching all the way to his closed eyes as he shakes with laughter.

* * *

Putting his phone onto the coffee table on his left, Taehyung takes his time rolling up the joggers that Jimin is wearing. They are both sat on opposite ends of the sofa, Jimin’s feet are in Taehyung’s lap and his nose buried deep into the 22nd volume of Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. 

Taehyung had pressed his lips together a few hours back when Jimin had stumbled into the living room, tripping over his own foot because Taehyung’s joggers were a little too large for him. He probably forgot to fold them at the waist like he normally does. He was also drowning in his black Celine t-shirt, Taehyung himself donning the white one today. The t-shirt was dropping off his shoulders, showing a little more skin than Taehyung was used to. He tried to focus on the task at hand of making his trousers safer for his best friend to walk around in. 

His index finger pressed slightly at the brown smudge-on Jimin’s left foot, “I didn’t know you had a mole here, Jimin-ssi.” He was glad to be learning more about the little creature in front of him. The sweetest of them all. 

It took a few seconds before Jimin realised he was being addressed, “I do?”

He lowered his book and placed it on his thighs, leaning forward to look at where Taehyung was pointing. “I never knew it was there either!” Jimin giggled softly. He shimmies to sit up a little higher, he had been slouching, too caught up in the novel to remember a good posture. 

Taehyung knows Jimin’s eyes are on him as he bends his head down slightly and raises Jimin’s foot a little higher with both his hands under it; he presses a gentle kiss on Jimin’s new-found mole. A thousand feelings surface to his skin, screaming to be heard, and he feels lightheaded for what he had just done. They were walking the tightrope of what it meant to be friends. When he finally lifts his head, his own cheeks feeling warm, he watches Jimin reflect the blush on his face too. 

Taehyung can’t help but feel a grin spread across his face as Jimin quickly picks up the book from where it lay on his lap with both his hands and squashes his face fully into its pages.

It would take a few more minutes for Jimin to move the book away from where it was pressing into his face and go back to reading. All the while, the butterflies would wreak havoc in Taehyung’s stomach until he wanted to press his hands onto his side to stop all the emotions from gushing forth; spilling out and colouring the two in an ocean of feelings. 

“Come on baby, it’s bedtime,” it was a little while later and Taehyung was standing overlooking Jimin.

He watches as Jimin moves the book so that his face is covered once more to Taehyung, it’s covering most of his left side and his head. Surely, he could not read like that. He was just being silly now. There was something so innocent about the way Jimin could not meet Taehyung’s eyes that made him want to run to the closest hill and scream his lungs out. Taehyung was sure if he did not sleep soon, he would do something just as foolish. 

Bending forward, he firmly hooks his fingers and thumb under Jimin’s armpits, making sure he looks over Jimin’s head to maintain the dignity that he was trying so hard to maintain with the curtain of the thin book. The book is pressed between their chests, Jimin’s right hand still holding onto it, and his left hooked around Taehyung’s neck. Taehyung gives Jimin a moment to settle himself on his hips, crisscrossing both of his legs at his back and securing himself in place. Jimin’s face is buried into Taehyung’s neck as he walks to their shared bedroom. 

Going against his reflex, Taehyung leaves the bedroom light off when he enters the room. In the dark, he lifts the corners of the bed cover off and lets Jimin sink into the soft mattress. He tries not to gulp too hard as their hand’s touch when Taehyung undoes Jimin’s fingers from the book and places it, cover-up, on the bedside table. Jimin did not dog-ear his books nor did he use a bookmark, he usually kept his books open or just read back until he found his place again. Taehyung had told him it was stupid to read the same thing twice when bookmarks had been created for a reason; he had bought Jimin multiple of them over the years, the pastel pink one with the cherry blossoms hung from Jimin’s corkboard where he gathered cute polaroid’s and notes sent from his loved one. And the black ribbon with his name written in gold ink he had draped onto his bag as a decoration. Jimin was stubborn in his ways, so Taehyung let him be.

Placing a hand on each side of Jimin’s spectacles, he removes them and places them softly next to the book. And in that second, all he wants to do is kneel by the side of the bed and cup Jimin’s face into his hands. To look into those beautiful eyes of his and tell him just how he feels. He turns around, and stops for a second, waiting to see if Jimin would stop him. There was a lump in his throat, he tried to swallow it down as he walked to his side of the bed. The three sides of the bed seemed like an entire continent of land for Taehyung’s feet, and when he finally did make it, he fell onto his pillow with a sigh. 

He was left to his own thoughts for the good part of a second before Jimin was snuggling into his side. Without a thought, his right arm extended to let Jimin’s head rest on it; like it was only right. He felt each second go by as Jimin’s heart slowed and his breathing grew steady, it was his favourite part of the day. There was something very beautiful about watching the love of his life unwind and completely give in to him, put away all his shields and lay vulnerable in his arms. He rarely ever fell asleep before Jimin, he could not give up on this precious experience, he was too lucky to be having the chance to go through it in the first place.

Taehyung saw the distance between them on the game-field lessen just that bit. 

* * *

The scattered papers, books (that he was not going to use but looked good on the table for his morale) and the numerous teacups made their small kitchen look even smaller than it already was. They did not care much for it though; both were awful cooks and relied on microwaved dishes and 3-ingredient meals. The square table was small enough that when Taehyung reached to the edge of it for something, he felt Jimin’s knees bashing against his. Jimin would yelp cutely, he had the smallest threshold for pain, it made him even more adorable to Taehyung. 

His paper was due in midday and it was already 9 am, he was still to meet the word limit as well as do the hellish part of the reference. He knew very well the reason why one was requested, he just hated it with a burning passion and it usually took him a good few hours to do it; which he did not have at his disposal. He was very much screwed. 

The cold tea hit the back of his throat in an act of bitter revenge for having been left forgotten. He wanted to spit it, not having realised just how long it had been lying untouched, but he had no energy or time to get up and do such a thing. So, he gulped it down and vowed to not reach for the cup again… he would renew that vow again in about 8 minutes when he’d forgotten about it amid typing once more.

“Oh, _come on_!” Taehyung growled as he watched Jimin raise his right leg over him and get comfortable on his lap. He was still warm from the bed. Taehyung had not even heard Jimin’s cat-like self walk into the kitchen, or maybe he was just too anxious to have cared to keep his ear out for any sounds besides the one of his impending doom. “This is really _not_ the time Park.”

Jimin’s arms embrace him and rest on his lower back, his legs rest comfortably on the back of the chair. He was wearing black shorts and an old grey t-shirt that had seen better days. As Jimin rubbed his face across Taehyung’s chest, making himself at home, he mumbled, “hugging releases oxytocin and that in turn will make you less stressed, it’s scientifically proven Taehyung-ssi.” 

“Oh I know the science behind, I just call bullshit on that being your reason for wanting to snuggle in right now, you selfish prick,” Taehyung scolds, as he pushes the table a little further back so it’s not pressing so close to Jimin’s back. He zooms onto the page on his laptop, to stop himself from craning forward to see what was written on the page. 

For the first time since he had woken up at 4 am to make a start on the paper, sweat beading his face because he had realised just how much he had to write, he felt the booming of his heart cease a little. His breathing matched the slowness of Jimin’s, who was now sleeping on his chest, his body curled up even smaller than normal. 

Jimin always complained about how long it took to get him to sleep when they spent the night apart, texts of, “it’s too hot,” “the bed feels rock hard,” and “I can’t get into a comfortable position,” littering Taehyung’s notification… but when he was next to Taehyung, he slept within seconds. A sense of pride flooded through Taehyung and he felt himself grin, his chin pressed atop of Jimin’s head. 

The underside of his thighs was sore, having been pressed hard onto the wooden chair for a while now and he was slowly losing feeling in his toes. As he stretched his legs out, trying very hard to flex his toes, he realised he may not be as screwed over as he had begun to think before Jimin’s arrival. 

Jimin leaned back, his legs still hooked behind Taehyung’s back, as he stretched. His arms raising and lifting his t-shirt with it. Taehyung was trying very hard to keep a frown on his face and not look down at the small part of Jimin’s stomach that was on display. He wanted to lift Jimin onto the table, amidst the array of papers and devices, and kiss his tummy so bad... but he had other priorities to think of at that moment.

The smaller boy cocked his head to the side, “send me what you’ve written, and I might just proofread it for you, as a thank you for the lovely nap.” Jimin winked and Taehyung felt the ground turn to mush under him, ‘oh god oh god _oh god_ ,’ he thought. 

“You wouldn’t be such a darling, would you?” 

“I may just be,” there was a cheeky gleam to Jimin’s eyes and Taehyung knew he was so far down into the rabbit hole that there was no way back; not that he wanted to ever stop being in love with Jimin. 

He pinches Jimin’s cheeks with the tips of his fingers and thumbs, “I could just kiss you right now!” 

And then what he had said hits him like a boulder as he watched the pinkness spread across Jimin’s face and the tips of his ears, a painter’s brush sweeping up. Jimin could no longer hold Taehyung’s eyes as he looked down and stumbled out of Taehyung’s lap to get his laptop. Taehyung watched in the window opposite as Jimin hits his head on the side of the door as he accidentally walks into it. ‘What a fool,’ he thought with a smirk. 

There is just over an hour to go to midday and the late morning air gushes in as Jimin leans on his tiptoes to reach over and open the kitchen window. Taehyung had not even realised just how stuffy the kitchen had gotten, or how bright the day was outside until that moment. 

Taehyung watches as Jimin opens his laptop and scans across what he had emailed the latter. Jimin’s face is still puffy from sleep, his cheeks swollen and his eyes larger than normal. His hair looked like the first nest that a baby bird attempted to make before it got too caught up with the fascinating world outside. Taehyung’s eyes rested on Jimin’s neck. 

And after a few moments, without looking up from the screen, Jimin whispers, “Taehyung. _Focus_.” 

Embarrassment cascades onto Taehyung like monsoon rain as he bites the insides of his cheeks and prays that his feelings are not as easy to read as Jimin’s. With regret, he wills his mind back to his paper, although all he would really be thinking about was the boy across from him.

* * *

Blankets lay strewn on both the sofas and the lone armchair that decorated Jimin and Taehyung’s living room. The house was eerily quiet now that all five of the boys had slowly but steadily left, the movie night being more about their commentary than actually watching it. It was always a surprise that they fixed on a movie at all, no two of them being able to agree on any one thing. If it was not for rock-paper-scissors, they probably would have never made any decisions at all. 

“You want the leftover popcorn?” Jimin was standing an arm's length away from Taehyung, he had just picked up the popcorn bowl from the coffee table and turned to face him.

All the light of the room was coming from the lamp on the bookshelf that rested near the window, Jimin had turned it on so the boys could grab their things without tripping all over the place, but he was not brave enough to turn on the actual lights; his eyes could not adjust to the brightness that quickly, or so he excused. 

Taehyung bit the inside of his cheeks, Jimin was the only boy who could rock the orange sweater he was wearing. It wasn’t the type of orange that made you avert your eyes, but the type that promised warmth from a soft fire on a wintery night. But that was beside the point.

Jimin’s eyebrows rose in question and the air in the room froze. Taehyung could hear the blood rushing in his ears, it was loud enough to match the rhythm of a drumroll. Time seemed to have been stretched along a thin wire as Jimin shrugged and turned around, he was going to walk away. 

Grabbing Jimin’s wrist, Taehyung yanked him back. Taehyung could have sworn the popcorn that cascaded around Jimin and himself looked like buttercup petals in that split second. Jimin’s eyes widened and his mouth made a small _o_ shape as he fell on top of Taehyung. They heard the bowl clatter to the floor a second later as Jimin’s hands came to rest to clutch at Taehyung’s shirt. 

Taehyung pulled Jimin up so that their faces were aligned. He waited for Jimin to shift his body so that he was sitting up once more. Jimin’s face drowned in Taehyung’s large hands as he pushed their foreheads together. Their breaths amalgamated and Taehyung would have smiled at how quick Jimin’s breathing had become had he not opened his mouth. 

“You are so _cute_ Taehyungie.” 

“Don’t call me that.” Taehyung snarled, his bottom lip curling.

“What? Cute?” There was a grin in Jimin’s voice that Taehyung wanted to wipe off, he pushed his forehead even harder onto Jimin’s, it was almost painful.

 _Jimin was enjoying this_. Of course, he was. The fucker.

The chaos of the room had eluded everyone’s eyes away from the scene that had unfolded there just a few hours back, except for Taehyung and Jungkook who watched with fists clenched for the former and tongue pressed into their cheek for the latter. Hoseok was sat tempering with the screen, it was just before the movie was turned on. 

Jimin sat on Namjoon as if he had his name written on Namjoon thighs with golden cursive letters. His back was a straight line, his legs hooked on either side of the older boy as he poked Namjoon’s dimples. ‘He’s practically cooing at him’, Taehyung thought with revulsion. 

The older boy was the least comfortable with physical affection… except when it came to Jimin. Apparently even Namjoon was not exempt from Park Jimin’s charms. Taehyung was going to throw up the piece of chocolate he had tricked Yoongi into sharing with him, it felt unsettling suddenly. 

“Joonie is the cutest!” Jimin’s voice rang through the room, chimes fluttering in the wind. Jungkook’s head cocked to the side and his eyebrows raised a little as the honorifics went flying out the window; Namjoon was beaming at Jimin like he was one of his treasured bonsai’s. Sickening.

The bile was up to Taehyung’s throat. He turned and stalked into the kitchen, only to walk into Jin and Yoongi making out next to the microwave, the popcorn growing hard once more having been abandoned for so long. ‘Oh for goodness sake!’ He thought, turning on his heels and walking out again. 

“You’re the cutest wh-” Taehyung didn’t let Jimin finish his sentence, his palms met Jimin’s shoulder as he pushed him back onto the sofa now. He blinked away stars from his eyes as he walked to the bedroom door, gritting his teeth until his temples screamed in protest. 

The guilt of having hurt Jimin was just about to descend on Taehyung when he heard Jimin’s laughter fill the room, it sounded as happy as a bunch of toddlers being sprinkled with water on a summer’s day. Taehyung sighed deeply. 

Jimin’s leg is wrapped around Taehyung’s waist and his arm are clinging onto him. “Taehyung-ah,” he whispered as he closed the small distance between his chest and Taehyung’s back. “Don’t be mad.” 

“I am not mad,” Taehyung snapped at Jimin, he was tired and had been trying to sleep but failing for the past half an hour.

“We made a promise to not go to sleep angry with each other,” Jimin’s nose was rubbing at Taehyung’s back, his warm breath lingering on Taehyung’s skin. 

“I told you, I am not mad.”

“Then why are you faced away from me?” 

“Because it’s comfortable to sleep this way,” he lied, he hated opening his eyes and the creepy shadows from the window greeting him. He preferred watching Jimin sleep or waking up to having his face buried in Jimin’s chest because he had moved down the bed through the night. 

“Then give me your arm to sleep on,” Jimin whined, the same voice Taehyung would give his whole life to if only asked. 

“Why don’t you use Namjoon hyung’s arm to sleep on,” the words had barely left his conscious and into the real world before Taehyung realized just how fatuous he sounded. He could not help but smile as Jimin giggled into his neck. 

In a moment Taehyung was on his back and he had pulled Jimin onto his chest. His arms held onto Jimin’s middle so tightly, he was scared he would never be able to undo them. Taehyung buried his face into Jimin’s hair, he breathed him in as if oxygen had been made redundant. His heartbeat was rushing in his ears, he cared not. The fear of seeing Jimin with someone else was gushing through his bones in painful waves, crushing every bit of rational thought in him. He was succumbing to the pain; it was at the apex of his heart.

“You’re only mine.” He gasped out. 

Jimin raised his head just a little until their eyes met and nodded. Taehyung gulped, the doe-eyed boy staring up at him was his. And he was never going to let go, no matter the cost.

“I can’t live without you Jimin.”

Lowering his eyes, Jimin rubbed his nose on Taehyung’s collarbone and his face is completely hidden when Taehyung hears a small, “ _I know,_ ” from him. 

It’s not long before his breathing slows down and he’s fast asleep, Taehyung feels Jimin’s heartbeat against his skin, and he holds him just that bit tighter; he wants to feel this every night for the rest of his life.

* * *

Taehyung was lying on his left arm; his phone was propped up against his balled-up sweater and he was staring at a miniature Jimin on his screen. He wondered how Jimin’s hands were not hurting from holding up the phone above his face like that, they had been talking for over two hours now. ‘Must be his dancer’s arms,’ Taehyung thought fondly, he saw himself smile on the screen.

“So, you won’t come back home?” Jimin’s lips were in a duck shape, he knew he was being unreasonable, but that was not going to stop him from annoying the life out of Taehyung. 

“One weekend Jimin, just one weekend is all I am asking for, come on!” 

“I can do one night without sleeping properly, but two? _Two whole nights_? That’s just mean,” Jimin mewled, he was batting his eyelashes furiously as if to convey how ludicrous it was for Taehyung to be gone for so long.

“I do have a family to give my time to Jimin, it’s only fair.” 

Although the first thing his mother had said upon seeing him come home alone was, “you came without my son-in-law?” She had looked over Taehyung’s shoulder for Jimin although she knew he was not there; when they normally came over to Taehyung’s home, Jimin was the one who rang the doorbell and bounded into his parent’s arms. 

Dinner was unbearable with jokes being handed like the salt and pepper on the table, from one person to the other about his and Jimin’s love life, he had bit his tongue more than his food in the attempt to not scream out loud.

The stripped purple sweater looked beautiful on Jimin, he was going through a stripes phase and had the same sweater in every colour it came in. The fact that it was from the women’s section did not faze him in the slightest, he thought he looked cute in it and that was as good of a reason to purchase it than any other.

His hair was sprayed out on Taehyung’s pillow, a grin spread across his face. “Am I not your family?” 

Taehyung pretended to think for a while, put his index finger on his left cheek and his thumb near his lip. He could see the worry fly across Jimin’s eyes like an eagle in the clear sky. He had caught the bait just as Taehyung had thrown it.

“No,” Taehyung smirked. 

The grin transitioned to a frown on Jimin’s face, as seamlessly as summer nights glide into autumn mornings. His eyebrows closed in together until there was barely any space between the two.

Silence tumbled into both their respective rooms until it was up to their chins, drowning them. He could feel Jimin’s heartbeat race all the way across the city.

“You’ll have to marry me for that.” 

Taehyung’s laughter filled the once silent room as Jimin’s phone fell right onto the bridge of his nose; a black screen met Taehyung’s eyes as Jimin’s phone lay face down on the bed as he whimpered small “ow’s” into his hands. 

He did not rush Jimin back into the conversation, he was not that cruel. Taehyung knew Jimin would need a few moments to chew on his lower lip and tell himself to breathe. He would shake his head a dozen times to try and get rid of all the clouding thoughts that were racing through it, and only then would he be able to present himself to Taehyung.

The latter felt extra nice today, being far away from Jimin made him sympathetic towards the smaller boy. So even before Jimin picked his phone back up, Taehyung changed the subject so Jimin’s heart could slow down enough to talk again.

As they spoke of Jimin’s exam and how no matter how much he was practising, he seemed to be getting no better at it, Taehyung stared longingly at the small pink blotch on Jimin’s nose; he wanted to cross the distance of the city between them and kiss it that very moment. Alas, he would have to wait till Sunday night for that. He understood Jimin’s whining now; two nights were intolerable away from his lover.

The pair were avid fans of the notebook, they had watched it at least a few hundred times, so when Taehyung opened the front door, he was not surprised to be thrown back as Jimin ran into his arms. His backpack fell from his right hand as he used both to hold onto Jimin’s thighs, they were now wrapped around his waist. Jimin threw his face back and laughed, this was his favourite scene in the movie, he loved recreating the hug the most. 

As Taehyung walked into the living room, Jimin cupped Taehyung’s face in his hands and Taehyung felt himself unwind, a spool of thread tumbling to the ground. All Jimin had to do was press his lips onto his and the rest would be history. He needed Jimin to give in, he wanted to win this game.

It was like looking for a black cat in a dark room.

Taehyung sighed as he fell back onto the sofa, hands coming to rest on the bare skin left exposed by Jimin’s skinny jeans. Taehyung hated these the most; they bought on more suffering to his already feeble heart than he could endure. His thumb rubbed back and forth on his thighs as he watched Jimin’s chest rise and fall; he was staring right at Taehyung’s lips. Shameless. As usual.

Taehyung leant forward and felt their breaths mingle, the soft gasp that escaped Jimin’s lips made him want to scream the world down. Jimin’s hands pressed firmly on Taehyung’s chest, Taehyung was sure his heartbeat was passing along his palm and right through Jimin’s body to his own heart. And then he did what he had wanted to do for nearly 48 hours now; he kissed the bruise on Jimin’s nose. 

The shock on Jimin’s face was worth his weight in gold. If there was not heat cursing through every inch of his skin, or his pulse pounding like a war drum, he would have laughed. But he couldn’t laugh; not when Jimin’s plush lips were set apart, his pupils dilated to the size of the moon and his breathing rugged. 

Taehyung trailed his eyes lower to Jimin’s neck, he may have wanted to kiss Jimin’s nose for nearly two days and two nights, but he had yearned to kiss his neck for as long as he could remember. He dreamt of it like it was a part of his sleeping schedule and thought of it every one of his waking seconds.

He stifled a cry as Jimin arched his head back, giving him full access to his neck. Jimin’s hands ran slowly up until he was holding onto Taehyung’s shoulders. He dragged himself, painfully slow, across Taehyung’s thighs until his knees were pressing tightly into his hips. Taehyung’s vision was blurred into shades of red, his throat was parched, and he could taste Jimin at the tip of his tongue even without opening his mouth.

His eyes never left Jimin neck; he knew it would be the end of him if he did not kiss it that very moment. He could already feel himself disintegrating, slowly losing himself, fibre by fibre. He saw Jimin’s Adam’s apple bob up and then down, just once, and he had already pressed his nose to it.

He was losing the duel. His shield was on the floor and he was vulnerable to Jimin’s attack; he could not care less.

Soft moans escaped Taehyung as Jimin rocked back and forth on Taehyung’s thighs. He could see the galaxy painted on the back of his eyelids as he felt Jimin’s cock press against him in ways that were not entirely platonic. His patience was wearing thin as he rubbed his nose alongside Jimin’s neck, the heat of a thousand suns was rushing along his veins.

Taehyung thought his heart collapsed in on itself as Jimin slid himself lower until his neck was pressed onto Taehyung’s lips. 

“ _Do it_ ,” Jimin commanded. 

With both of his hands laced behind Jimin’s head, his thumbs resting under his ears, Taehyung kissed every part of Jimin’s neck that he could. Over and over again. He only stopped to gasp for breath, his lungs were on fire. Every inch of Jimin was pressed onto Taehyung, his head thrown back and his neck covered in blotches of red that Taehyung had kissed ruthlessly.

“Tae-h-yung,” was all that Jimin said until it filled the room and clouded every other sound that the world had ever produced. Taehyung never knew he needed to hear his name said in that exact way from Jimin until now. He wondered just how much more there was for the pair to learn. Taehyung would give away his life to worship Jimin; learn every touch of his and every sound he was capable of making.

Even on that night, neither of the pair confessed. They were having way too much fun in the small gap between friendship and an established relationship; neither willing to cross the bridge when they could do everything they wanted to in the disguise of a platonic relationship. What was the fun if they confessed? Then they’d be like every other couple in the world, and there was no thrill in that. 

So Jimin curled himself small on Taehyung, his face resting on his sternum as they sat in the now dark room. The evening had left all its light behind and the night had taken its place. Taehyung ran his hand through Jimin’s hair and felt calm as both their breathing came back its norm. 

Neither was willing to let down their swords, but the space between them had decreased to the point of no return. The duel was nearing an end; just not yet. 

* * *

It was a Tuesday morning, not an anniversary of any sort or a special date on the calendar when it finally happened. Heck, both had 9 am lectures to attend.

Taehyung watched Jimin sleeping on his arm, face buried into his side and his left leg thrown over Taehyung’s middle. Taehyung had never seen anyone so beautiful.

It was in that moment, with the sun gleaming on Jimin’s sleeping face, shading him in its golden halo, the angel that he was in Taehyung’s life, that the younger boy had decided his fate.

The last few weeks had been intolerable for the pair. They woke up each day and battled through it knowing full well just how much their actions were costing the other. From Jimin casually pressing himself into Taehyung as he did the dishes, to Taehyung whispering indecently in Jimin’s ear and everything in between. They were both grasping onto the last few grains of sand falling out of the timer, waiting to see who would have the last second. 

As Jimin woke up, sleepily gazing up at Taehyung with those beautiful eyes, Taehyung realised just how much he loved him. So much so that he was willing to lose the game they had both been playing for so so long. 

“I surrender,” Taehyung smiled, he saw Jimin’s eyes widen as the words drifted onto his consciousness. “I am in love with you Park Jimin.” 

The wind rushed out of Taehyung’s lungs as Jimin smiled, his eyes were drawn into crescent moons and his cheeks puffy with sleep. “You lasted a lot longer than I expected Tete!” 

“I surprised myself to be fair,” Taehyung said with an air of arrogance, happiness blossoming in his chest like flowers of the warmest colour, he kissed Jimin’s forehead. 

“We both knew I was going to win from the first day, didn’t we?” Jimin’s proud grin was displayed in all its glory. He was beaming brighter than the morning sun that shone on his face. 

“With your competitive and stubbornness? Of course, we did, but I still enjoyed the game, 10/10 would play again with you Jimin.”

“Just to lose again?” Jimin’s voice sounded the way running through a meadow of yellow flowers would feel like.

“I would lose my whole life for you Jimin,” Taehyung breathed into the room. His heart raced against his chest and his mind was filled with a thousand emotions; all better than the last.

Jimin smiled up at Taehyung and for the first time, Taehyung could kiss him right on the mouth. And so, he did. Just because he could.

As Taehyung carried Jimin bridal style out of bed to the bathroom, he smiled: there was the cherry blossom bookmark in his copy of the 58th volume of Legendary Moonlight Sculptor.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this work of mine, i appreciate your time a lot! please leave a comment to make me happy!! 
> 
> i have other fics (canon, au's, one-shots and chaptered fics) if you would like to give them a go :)
> 
> all the love, ira


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